2023-11-03 23:25:27
An earthquake struck Nepal late on Friday evening and, according to initial reports, claimed more than 60 lives. According to measurements by the US Earthquake Observatory USGS, it had a magnitude of 5.6 and occurred at a depth of around 18 kilometers. The center was therefore around 400 kilometers northeast of the capital Kathmandu. Contacting the affected Jajarkot district was difficult at night.
Initial reports from the region, which has a population of 190,000, said that at least 34 people were killed. In the neighboring district of Rukum, police reported at least 35 deaths. Numerous houses collapsed. Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal wrote on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that rescue teams were on the way.
According to a report in the Times of India, the quake was felt as far away as New Delhi, India. Social media videos showed people fleeing into the streets. The Himalayan region, in which Nepal is located, is geologically extremely active. There the Indian continental plate is pushing under the Eurasian plate at a rate of around two centimeters per year – which repeatedly leads to strong earthquakes.
Around eight years ago – in the spring of 2015 – a severe earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 (according to Nepalese information: 7.6) shook the area around the capital Kathmandu. The number of deaths rose to around 9,000 at that time. Millions of people became homeless.
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